This day began just like any other day…I was still pregnant and thinking I would have 2 more weeks until I saw my little man. Little did I know it would be a lot sooner! I went in for my 38 week check up. I didn’t expect to be dilated at all and to my surprise I was at 3 cms. and my cervix was soft. I had to ask Dr. Judd to repeat the numbers twice before I could believe it. He told me I wouldn’t be pregnant by this time next week. Jon and I left pretty happy with the news, but then the waiting game really began. I went about the day thinking that I was just having cramps as a result of being checked and that it would pass. As the day went on the pains didn’t go away. I went over to my in-laws house to see my sister-in-law before she left for Manti (she was to be married the next day). As I was sitting there watching her get her hair styled, I started noticing that these “cramps” were coming every 2 minutes and not stopping. Trying really hard not to cry I asked my mother in law what contractions felt like…she told me to feel my stomach when I was having the cramps and if it was tight I was having contractions…low and behold I was in labor. Jon and I headed over to Orem Community Hospital @ 3pm. As I walked in, Aunt Denise was working (thank goodness!…but I felt bad because it was at shift change) and she hooked me up to the monitors. I sat for an hour while they watched my contractions and the baby’s heart rate. After an hour, she checked me again. I hadn’t progressed at all. After talking with Dr. Judd, the decision was to send me home. I was given a morphine shot and they sent me on my way. Denise and the Dr. knew that they would be seeing me… for sure the next day. They told me that if I woke up and was still contracting that I should come back in. The morphine shot never really helped me. I laid down but never really went to sleep…I woke up with every contraction…can I just say I am not a fan of contractions. Jon and I headed back to the hospital @ 1 am. They hooked me back up to the monitors and watched me again for an hour. This time Cohen wasn’t cooperating. His heart rate wasn’t looking like they wanted it to, he was having decelerations. To my relief the nurse came in and said that I we would be moving to my room and I could get my epidural…Dan, the anesthesiologist was my best friend. I got my epidural at about 3:30 a.m., and he did a fantastic job. My pain eased and I could still move my legs. I was in full blown labor and ready to go. I called my mom @ about 4 a.m. so she could attend the delivery. During the next few hours Cohen’s heart rate kept dropping with each contraction. They put me on oxygen and had me rotate…I would lay to the right or left side to see if it would help his heart rate. It was effective for a while but then he would start to have more issues. I progressed from 3 to 6 to 7 centimeters. Dr. Judd came in and broke my water @ 8:30a.m., at the same time he put on an internal heart monitor on his head to be able to watch his heart rate more accurately. Once my water broke, my contractions were a lot stronger and made his heart rate drop even more. I believe they called them “dagger points”. Dr. Judd came in and told us we could watch the baby do this for a few hours or we could get him out now using forceps (but he didn’t recommend waiting)…we chose the forceps. I was so worried about him and just wanted him out. At 9:18 am, August 5th our little man arrived, weighing 5 lbs. 13 oz. and 19 inches long. As I sat there watching, as they cleaned him off, a wave of emotions hit… He had had the cord wrapped around his leg which was causing all the problems with his heart rate. Little did I know that his heart rate wasn’t going to be the only worry. His birth weight was low for his gestational age so the nurse checked his blood sugar. The first one was only 19 (they like it above 50). They took him to the nursery and checked another level which was sent to the lab…it was 33. The RN put an IV in his left arm, gave a bolus of dextrose, and kept him in the intermediate nursery for observation. Seeing an IV in my first born, and also not having him in the room was really hard on me. He was a little trooper though and didn’t really cry with any of the numerous pokes. The next day, with Denise’s help, he improved so much that he was able be in the room with me! He was able to go home with us on Sat. the 7th. It was surreal taking him home… this perfect little boy…and now he is mine to teach, and love.
